After potatoes are harvested, they are stored in large underground sheds. The sheds are aerated by fans in an attempt to inhibit microbial infection of the stored potatoes and to permit the potatoes to "heal" by growing a new outer protective skin over injuries to the potatoes that occurred during harvesting.
Notwithstanding these protective measures, in the United States alone more than half of the potatoes in storage are lost or damaged due to a number of diseases including late blight, silver scurf, fusarium and other dry rots, soft rots, ring rot, pink eye, Rhizoctonia, and early blight. These diseases collectively account for about $100 million in lost potato sales in the U.S. each year. Internationally, these losses are considerably greater.
There have been many attempts to control one or more of the above microbes. Generally, these attempts involved spraying an antimicrobial agent, such as thiobenzol, dithane and sodium hypochlorite, and hydrogen peroxide, directly on the potatoes prior to storage or on the top of the bed of the potatoes during storage. These agents were not only largely ineffective in controlling the growth of injurious microbes on the stored potatoes but also were potentially damaging to the potatoes or humans. Often, later rinsing steps were required to remove such agents, thereby increasing handling costs.
There is a need for a process and apparatus for controlling and inhibiting the growth of microbes on fruits and vegetables, such as potatoes, during storage.
There is a related need for a process and apparatus for controlling and inhibiting the growth of microbes on fruits and vegetables such as potatoes that does not employ toxic substances. More specifically, the process and apparatus does not employ substances that are toxic to humans or that otherwise damage the fruit or vegetable.